



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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Historical Epochs, 



WITH 



SYSTEM OF MNEMONICS, 



TO FACILITATE THE STUDY OP 



CHRONOLOGY, HISTORY, AND BIOGRAPHY. 



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E. A. FITZ SIMOK 






NEW YORK: 

TAINTOK BROTHERS, MERRILL & CO., 

758 BROADWAY. 

1882. 



Copyright bt 

TAINTOR BROTHERS, MERRILL & CO. 

1882. 



> 



Trow's 



Printing and Bookbinding Co, 
201-213 Bast lith St., 

NBW TORK. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



System of Mnemonics— Its Use— Method of Teaching it 

in Schools, 7-10 

Great Eras of Ancient History, ...... 11 

« Mediseval " 12 

" Modern " 13 

Mnemonic Table, 14 

Epochs and Historical Notes from the Creation to the 

Present Time, 15-54 

Leading Facts in the History of America from the Dis- 
covery by Columbus to the War of Independence, . 55-57 
Memorabilia of the War of Independence, . . . 58-61 
" Civil War, 62-70 



MNEMONICS. 



This little treatise on artificial memory does not pro- 
fess to present a new idea to the student, since the 
Mnemonics Arundelian Marbles inform us that the science 

taught before . ' 

christian era. of Mnemonics was taught in the year 477 b.c, 
by Simonides the Younger. 

In a.d. 1730 Dr. Grey published a treatise on this sub- 
ject, called "Memoria Technica," and another system, 
Modem entitled New Art of Memory, was announced 

treatises on . „ . -««-»«•» mi 

the subject, in Germany m the year 1806. The question 
of introducing Mnemonics into the public schools was 
at one time discussed with some earnestness, but the 
subject, not being handled in a practical manner, was al- 
lowed to collapse. 

" The eye of history," as chronology has been aptly 
called, is required to show us the effects produced in 
chronology one country by the contemporaneous events 

the eye of His- J J J- 

tory. occurring in other parts of the world, and to 

trace the march of progress, as indicated by wedge and 
arrow-head, or by characters traced with the stylus, and 
finally set in types to be reproduced a thousandfold. 

The importance of dates being an acknowledged fact, 
students, it is hoped, will readily avail themselves of a sys- 
The study of tern whereby an ordinary memory may easily 
become^lLy store U P an array of figures that would be ap- 
fngtySeaid P a lhng ^ presented in their usual cut-and- 
of mnemonics. drie( j form . and tlie me thod here laid down, 

if fairly tested, will make the subject of chronology one 
of the most interesting studies in the school course. 



8 HISTORICAL ErOCHS. 

Two modes of expressing numbers by alphabetic 
characters have been suggested, viz., the syllabic and 
Two modes of the verbal; the former uses for each figure 
numberTby a corresponding letter of the alphabet, thus 
letters. representing a date by one or more syllables ; 

the latter converts dates into worlds, by supplying re- 
quired letters. Grey's syllabic method recommended 
The syllabic by Blair, in his "Grammar of Useful Knowl- 
Sejreidy™" e &g e >" i s > w ^h some modification, here adopt- 
and practical. edj and it wiU fa found simple, ready, and 

practical. 

The figures are each represented by a vowel or diph- 
thong and a consonant, either of which may be employed 
Each figure at pleasure. Therefore 
STvowefor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, are represented by 

£??££*. «, * <, 0, U, 

nant. and -fay ^ ^ ^ J^ ^ ^at J^ £he five VOW- 

els are naturally chosen to represent the first five figures ; 
b, the first consonant, stands for 1 ; d, the initial letter 
Explanation of duo, represents 2 ; 3 is expressed by its 
offeTtefsuse'd initial > t ; 4t bj its initial,/; and 7, the Roman 
for numerals, character iov fifty, is taken to represent 5. 

For the other figures, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, we employ au (1 and 
5) ; oi (4 and 3) ; oo (4 and 4) ; ou (4 and 5) ; and the 
last vowel, y, designates the last figure. 

The corresponding consonants are s, the initial letter 
of six ; p, the second consonant in the Latin word septem 
(the first consonant being employed for six) ; the k of 
okto stands for eight ; nine is represented by its initial n ; 
and the last figure, 0, by the last letter, z. In large com- 
binations of figures g can be used for 100, and m (ini- 
tial of mille) for 1000. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 9 

Thus we have : 

wels and 
consonants 



Vowels and ^ b _l ^ £_ 3 u> J_ 5 i, £>— 7 Oil, U— 9 



SS'SSr* e > d ~ 2 >/~ 4 aM >*- 6 00 ^- 8 y. z ~° 

The system having been thus explained, and a suffi- 
cient number of examples given for illustration, the pupils 
Theory to be can then be exercised in forming mnemonic 
e^mpie^ 7 terms for the historical epochs (pp. 15-42), 
histodcai 16 which, being revised, should be committed to 
epochs. memory for recitation next day. 

As there can be several combinations of letters to ex- 
press the same figures, according to our choice of vowels 
Formation or consonants, the teacher will pronounce on 
terms. the term to be preferred, which should be 

adopted by all the class for convenience in recitation. 
The selection of any particular term is optional, but it 
will be better to choose the one most distinctive or eupho- 
nious; e..g., if the mnemonic for the signing of Magna 
Charta be required, five answers may be given. 

Signing of Magna Charta, a.d. 1215 : 

1st, Chart — adal. 
2d, Chart — bebu. 
3d, Chart — heal. 
4th, Chart — adbu. 
5th, Chart — beau. 

The last of these terms, whatever favor it may receive, 
is least to be preferred, for orthoepical reasons, as its pro- 
nunciation might be mistaken for the syllables bo or 
be-au, which would represent the figures 14 or 126. 
Care should, therefore, be taken to select terms that 
may not be confounded with other forms of letters, and 
to mark the distinction between diphthongs and separate 
vowel-sounds. Hence the third term, beat, if retained, 



10 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

must be pronounced in two syllables. The pupil^ should 
underline the term chosen, which, being added to the 
historical name, e.g., Chart — adal, may then be copied 
into a note-book kept for the purpose. The figures need 
not appear, although it may be well to place them beside 
the term until the pupil shall have acquired a facility in 
rendering the figures into syllables, and vice versa ; but 
in no case need the figures be committed to memory if 
mnemonics be employed. 

Should some object that it is as easy to learn dates as 
words, the answer is — trial will prove the contrary. 
is it as easy Even those who have "a memory for dates" 
as words? will find the ever-recurring ten figures liable 
to be confounded one with another, on occasions — 
an inconvenience avoided by the use of individual mne- 
monic terms combined with the historical name or 
event. It requires no effort, indeed, to commit a few 
dates to memory ; but if fifty or a hundred have to be 
learned, the Mahometan era may be given as 632 or 226, 
whereas the mnemonic hegira — sed will stamp 622 indeli- 
bly on the memory. 

As a matter of personal experience, five hundred dates 
were learned, and never forgotten, by the system of arti- 
Mnemonic n °i a l memory on page 8, in about one-tenth 
memorized 7 of tne time & woul( i have taken to learn them 
to be 1 ?^ 1 ! ot- le kv figures, the greater portion of which would 
£unded°Sne soon ^ ave been consigned to oblivion. 
with another. ^he epochs, pp. 15-42, will serve as land- 
marks to the student of history, and, being drawn up in 
chronological order, they can be learned by centuries. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 



With regard to time, History lias been divided into 
Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern. 

ANCIENT HISTOEY 

extends from the Creation to the destruction of the 
Western Empire of the Romans. 

B.C. — Its great epochs are : 
4004 — The Creation. 
2348— Deluge. 

2247 — Confusion of Tongues. 
1491 — The Exodus and Mosaic Law. 

Rise and Fall of the Great Monarchies : — 
2217-538 — Assyria and Babylon, 
2188-30— Egypt, 
538-331— Persia, 
331-146— Greece, 
753-a.d. 476-1453— Rome. 

Fourth and fifth centuries — The Age of Greek Art. 
a.d. — The Christian Era and the New Law. 
476 — Subversion of the Western Roman Empire 
by the heruli and the^ostrogoths. 

(For notes on these eras, see Historical Epoch*, pp. 16-84.) 



12 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 



MEDIAEVAL HISTOEY 

includes the period between the fall of the Western 
Empire and the discovery of America. These ten 
centuries are marked by : 

410-1453— The Conquests and Eavages of the 
Goths, Vandals, Huns, Saracens, and Norse- 
men. 

622-1453— Eise and Progress of Mahometanism. 

Eighth and ninth centuries — The Age of Charle- 
magne, Harun er Easchh), and Alfred the 
Great; The Feudal System and Chivalry. 

It is not kDOwn when or where the Feudal System originated, 
but it was developed by the Franks, who conquered Gaul, a.d. 
485, and divided the country into fiefs, held on the condition of 
military service- Feudalism was afterward introduced into other 
countries of Europe, and was in full force until the Crusades, 
after which it began to decline, though some of its features ex- 
isted in France until the Revolution, and in Russia until the reign 
of the late Czar, Alexander II. 

Chivalry originated in the contests between the Moors and 
Christians, and attained its greatest influence during the Cru- 
sades. The "Cid," a celebrated chivalric epic, is one of the 
earliest productions of Spanish literature. Knights-errant were 
bound by vow to practise all Christian virtues and devote their 
lives to the service of the weak and oppressed, being thus the 
' champions of justice in an age when the sword was the adjudi- 
cator of all quarrels. 

1066 — Norman Conquest. 
1215 — Magna Charta. 
1095-1291 — The Crusades. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 13 

Eleventh to Fifteenth centuries — Age of Architec- 
ture. 

(Gothic architecture attained its highest perfection in the thirteenth and four- 
teenth centuries.) 

Effects on navigation, war, and popular education 
produced by three great inventions, viz. : 

Thirteenth century — The Mariner's Compass ; 
Fourteenth century — Gunpowder ; 
Fifteenth century — Art of Printing. 

Fall of the Eastern Empire and Diffusion 
of Knowledge. 

(For notes on these eras, see Historical Epochs, pp. 34-42.) 



MODERN HISTORY 

is marked by the Renaissance in learning and the 
arts, which commenced at the close of the Mediaeval 
period. 

1492 — The Discovery of America. 

1529 — The Protestant Reformation. 

1701-1709 — Struggle for Ascendancy between 
Charles XII. and Peter the Great, which 
raised Russia to the Rank of a Chief Power. 

1776-1783 — War of American Independence. 

1789 — Constitution of the United States. 
The French Revolution. 

1804-1814 — Empire Founded by Napoleon Bona- 
parte. 

1861 — New Kingdom of Italy. 



14 historical epochs. 

1861-1865 — Civil War in the United States, re- 
sulting in the Abolition of Slavery. 

1871 — Franco-Prussian War ; France Proclaimed 
a Republic, and German Empire Established. 
Useful Inventions and Discoveries of the ' 
Nineteenth Century, chief among which are 
the application of Steam to locomotion, the Tele- 
graph, Submarine Cable, Balloon, Telephone, 
Phonograph, and Electric Light. 
Rapid Growth of the United States in Popu- 
lation, and Progress ln Arts and Manu- 
factures. 

(For notes on theae eras, see Historical Epochs, pp. 43-54.) 

MNEMONIC TABLE. 

See explanation of letters, p. 8. 

a e i o u ait, oi oo ou y 

1234567890 

h d t f I s p h n 2 

g, 100. ra, 1,000. 

Note. — The vowel i is to be pronounced long, as in time ; y, 
short, as in myth. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS AND REMARKABLE EVENTS. * 
B.C. 



THE CREATION OF MAN. 

4004. Creat. — omo. 

The Bible says: "In the beginning God created 
heaven and earth," and the several works of creation 
are then spoken of, the indefinite term " day " being 
used to express the interval between each. Sacred 
Writ leaves the duration of this interval a matter of 
conjecture, but furnishes data by which a rough cal- 
culation can be made of the time that elapsed from 
the creation of Adam to the Christian era. 

THE UNIVERSAL DELUGE. 

2348. Bel—etok.. 

The posterity of Adam and Eve, "the race of 
giants," lived under a patriarchal form of government 
until the Deluge. Primitive man had nine centuries 
in which to acquire and impart knowledge. Among 
the antediluvians we read of Tubal Cain, " an artificer 
in every work of brass and iron," and Jubal, " the 
father of them that play upon the harp and the 
organs." 



16 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

BUILDING OF THE TOWER OF BABEL; 
CONFUSION OF TONGUES, AND 
DISPEESION OF MANKIND. 
2247. Bab.— edqp. 

The antediluvians spoke one language, but the vain 
attempt to build the Tower of Babel led to the con- 
fusion of tongues, and the children of Noah separated 
to seek new settlements and found new governments. 
Regal power was then established, and the Chaldean 
(Assyrian and Babylonian) monarchy founded. Egypt 
and China were probably coeval with Assyria ; and 
in these countries the early arts — agriculture, music, 
architecture, and astronomy — were cultivated by the 
descendants of Noah. The Babylonians had so far 
progressed in astronomical science as to calculate 
eclipses of the moon accurately, and their skill in 
architecture and sculpture is attested by the excava- 
tion of Assyrian antiquities. 

NIMROD, grandson of Ham, founded the Baby- 
lonian Monarchy ; 
ASSUR, son of Shem, about this time, built Nin- 
eveh and founded the Assyrian Monarchy. 
2245 (Lenglet). Nimrod-Assur — edol. 

Nimrod is supposed to have been the first king, and 
the Belus of secular history. 

Babylon derived its name from Belus or Bel (Lord). 
In Hebrew it was called Babel, from bilbel, to con- 
found, which plainly refers to the confusion of 
tongues. Nineveh was named after Ninus, the re- 
puted son of Belus. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 17 

FO-HI FOUNDS THE CHINESE MON- 
ARCHY. 

2240. Fohi— defy. 

The Chinese claim for their government an incredi- 
ble antiquity, though their historical chronology dates 
only from the seventh century before the Christian 
era ; but the record of twenty-two dynasties of kings, 
and of a series of eclipses computed for two thousand 
years before Christ, make it probable that Fo-Hi lived 
in the days of Noah, or was, as some assert, Noah. 

The many points of resemblance seen in the ancient 
Asiatic nations indicate a common origin. The Chal- 
deans, Egyptians, Chinese, Hindoos, and Persians were 
highly civilized at an early period, though beyond a 
certain point they made no progress. The art of 
making glass, gunpowder, the mariner's compass, and 
printing from wooden blocks, were known to the 
Chinese centuries before their introduction into Eu- 
rope ; yet it was from Europeans that the Chinese 
learned to improve and fully utilize these inventions. 

MENES, or MISRAIM, son of Ham, founded 
the Egyptian monarchy, which continued 
1663 years, until subverted by Cambyses. 
2188. Menes— daTcoo. 

The Egyptians constructed the most massive monu- 
ments of art, and taught the learned men of other 
nations geometry, astronomy, and philosophy. Thales, 
Pythagoras, Plato, and other Grecian philosopher* 
acquired much of their knowledge in Egypt. 



18 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

CALL OF ABEAHAM FEOM CHALDEA 

TO THE PROMISED LAND. 
1921. Ahv.—aneb. 

The Chaldean patriarch was the progenitor of the 
Jewish nation, and it has been ascertained from the 
cuneiform writings that the Chaldean and Hebrew 
languages have a common origin. 

MEMNON, KING OF EGYPT, said to have 

invented letters. 
1822. Memnon — aJced. 

THE CHRONICLE OF PAROS, or the chro- 
nology of the Arundelian marbles, begins 
with the arrival of Cecrops in Attica. 
1582. Cecrops — huhe. 

Several statues, busts, and inscriptions were found 
in the Grecian isles in the reign of James I. They 
were purchased by Lord Arundel, and were afterward 
presented to the Oxford Library. One of these mar- 
bles contains the chronicle of Paros, which was sculp- 
tured about 264 b.c. It gives the dates of the most 
remarkable events in Grecian history from the time 
of Cecrops to the First Punic war, 1582-264. 

THE DELUGE OF DEUCALION IN 

GREECE. 
1529. Deucalion — aim. 

Deucalion was a king of Thessaly, and the inunda- 
tion which occurred in his reign was sometimes con- 
founded with the universal deluge. 



HISTORICAL EPHOCS. 19 

CADMUS, a Phoenician prince, founds Thebes, 

and introduces letters into Greece. 
1519. Cadmus — albou. 

Grecian civilization, and the origin of most of the 
languages of Europe, date from this period. Arith- 
metic, navigation, the art of making glass, and the 
coining of money, are also ascribed to the Phoenicians, 
who were a maritime pec pie in the days of Abraham. 

MOSES delivers the Israelites from Egyptian 
bondage. Period of the Exodus and the 
Law. 
1491. Moses; Is. — bona. 

The Pentateuch, the earliest historical record in 
existence, was written by Moses in 1452, the year be- 
fore his death. In 1451 Joshua led the Israelites into 
the promised land. 

THE AKGOXAUTIC EXPEDITION SAILS 
TO COLCHIS. 

1356 (according to other computations, 1263). ArgOn TtlilaU. 

This event, celebrated by ancient writers, was either 
a commercial or a political enterprise. The A?yo, in 
which the Greeks sailed, had fifty oars, and is said to 
have been the first ship that made a sea-voyage. The 
Argonauts, fifty-four in number, were the most dis- 
tinguished men of the age. Jason commanded the 
expedition, and among his companions was Orpheus, 
whose poem on the subject, or one bearing his name, 
is extant. The poets adorned the legend with alle- 
gory and fable. 



20 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

ASSYRIA frees herself from subjection to 
Babylon, and becomes a ruling power of 
Western Asia. 
1273, or 1250. Assyria — aduz. 

The supremacy of Assyria continued for six cen- 
turies, a period which includes two monarchies. The 
first Assyrian monarchy lasted five hundred years. 
It was subverted a.c 745, and a new dynasty founded 
by Tiglath-Pileser II. The palaces, temples, paint- 
ings, and sculptures which recent discoveries have 
brought to light attest the splendor of this age. 
Assur-banni-pal, supposed to have been the Sarda- 
napalus of Greek writers, reigned from 667 to 625 — 
the golden age of Assyrian culture and magnificence. 
The second monarchy was overthrown by the Medes 
and Babylonians, a.c 606. 

TROY taken and burned by the Greeks after a 

ten years' siege. 
1184. Troy—bako. 

DEDICATION OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. 

1004. Solomon — amo. 

The temple was destroyed by the Romans a.d. 70. 

REVOLT OF THE TEN TRIBES, in the 
reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon. 

THE JEWISH MONARCHY divided into 

the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 
975. Judah; Is. — noil. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 21 

The separated tribes made Jeroboam king of Israel ; 
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin adhered to Reho- 
boam. 

HOMEE and HESIOD flourished. 

900. Homer; Hes. — oug. 

ELIAS THE PROPHET translated to heaven. 
896. Elias — Icons. 

CARTHAGE founded by Elissa, a Phoenician 
princess, called by her people Dido (valiant 
woman). 

869 or 853. Dido— haun. 

Yirgil makes Dido contemporary with iEneas, an 
anachronism of over three hundred years. The Tro- 
jan's desertion of the Phoenician queen was invented 
to account for the hatred between Rome and Carthage. 

THE FIRST OLYMPIAD, or ERA OF THE 

GREEKS. 
776. Olym.— pois. 

From this epoch computation of time is more accu- 
rate. The Olympiads were periods of four years, at 
the expiration of which the Olympic games were cele- 
brated by all the states of Greece. A national spirit 
was thus fostered, and the athlete, poet, artist, or 
philosopher who gained the Olympic crown of olive 
was held in the highest honor. 



22 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

EOME FOUNDED BY ROMULUS— The 

Roman epoch. 
753 (according to Yarro). Rome— ^m^. 

From the foundation of the city to the expulsion of 
Tarquin, the last of the seven kings, comprised a 
period of 244 years. The republic, governed by two 
consuls, chosen annually, lasted 478 years. The em- 
pire, dating from battle of Actium to the deposition 
of Augustulus Romulus, last emperor of the "West, 
continued for 507 years. Thus the whole period of 
the Western Empire of the Romans was 1,229 years. 

The Eastern Empire existed until 1453 a.d., that 
is, 977 years after the fall of Rome. 

ERA OF NABONASSAR BEGINS. 

747. Nabon.— pop. 

The Babylonian astronomers computed time from 
the accession of Nabonassar, who made Babylon inde- 
pendent of Assyria. The latter power, however, 
regained its ascendancy two years after, when Tiglath- 
Pileser II. ascended the throne. 

SALMANAZAR IV., King of Assyria, besieged 
Samaria, which was taken after three years 
during which the king died, and Sargon, 
commander of the forces, became ruler. 

THE TEN TRIBES LED INTO CAPTIV- 
ITY, terminating the kingdom of Israel. 
721. Salman.; Israel — oida. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 23 

END OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 
Cyaxares, the Mede, joined by the Babylo- 
nians under Nabopolassar, father of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, capture and burn Nineveh. 
Saracus, the last king, set fire to his palace 
and perished in the flames. 

LATEE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE BEGUN. 

606, or 625. Ninev.; Cyax.; Nabo. — shdu. 

Assyria and Babylonia were rival powers from their 
foundation. The latter held the ascendancy for the 
first thousand years. Assyria then rose to eminence, 
and was at the height of its glory when Nineveh was 
destroyed. 

Under Nebuchadnezzar, " the great building king," 
Babylon became the mistress of the world. Herodo- 
tus describes it as an exact square enclosing an area 
of 196 square miles, through which the Euphrates 
flowed diagonally. Within the walls, which were of 
immense height, were gardens and pasture grounds, 
and on each side of the square were twenty-five brazen 
gates. The hanging gardens, raised on terraces, and 
capable of bearing the largest forest-trees, were built 
by Nebuchadnezzar to gratify his queen, Amytis, and 
were reckoned among the wonders of the world. 

SOLON, archon and legislator of Athens, abol- 
ished the sanguinary laws of Draco, and 
formed a code which continued in existence 
for 400 years. 

594. Solon — uno. 



24 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

CONFUCIUS (Kung-fu-tze, learned master 
Kung), the Chinese philosopher, born. 

551. Confucius — lub. 

The moral precepts of Confucius are still the Chi- 
nese code of ethics. 



BABYLON TAKEN BY CYKUS, who di- 
verted the course of the Euphrates and led 
his army through the bed of the river. Bel- 
shazzar slain in the midst of revelry. 

END OF THE BABYLONIAN MONAR- 
CHY— PEKSIAN EMPIRE BEGUN— 
RETURN OF THE JEWS FROM THE 
SEVENTY YEARS' CAPTIVITY. 

538. Babylon ; Cyr.— III. 

Two centuries later Babylon was taken by Alexan- 
der the Great. After his death it rapidly declined, 
and the village of Hilleh now marks the site of the 
most famous city of antiquity. 



Literature of the First Great Monarchy. 

Modern research has not only brought to light the 
buried monuments of the first great monarchy, but 
has also found a key whereby its cuneiform writing 
can be deciphered. On some of the clay tablets lately 
discovered was an account of the creation, deluge, and 
other facts recorded in Sacred Writ. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 25 

The Babylonians were celebrated as astronomers, 
and all the large cities of Chaldea had royal observa- 
tories and public libraries. "The Illumination of 
Bel," an astronomical work in seventy tablets or 
books, was compiled for the library of Sargon, and 
copies of it are found in some of the museums of 
Europe. 



THE TAEQUTN"S expelled from Kome, and the 

regal government abolished. 
509. Tarquin — lyn. 

Period of the Commonwealth, 509-31 b.c. 



BATTLE OF MAKATHON, in which Milti- 
ades with 10,000 men defeats 100,000 Per- 
sians. 

490. Marathon — ony. 

The fifth century is marked by the Persian inva- 
sion of Greece, and the fourth by Alexander's invasion 
of Persia. 



Age of Greek Art — These two centuries are also 
distinguished as the age of Greek art. 

Phidias, Agesander, Polycletus, Praxiteles, Ly sip- 
pus, and others, whose works have perished, brought 
sculpture to its highest perfection; whilst Parrha- 
sius, Zeuxis, and Apelles won imperishable fame as 
painters. 



26 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

THE SPARTANS, under Leonidas, defend the 
pass of Thermopylae — Battle of Salamis — 
Victory of Themistocles. 

480. Salamis— -fooz. 

The Persian fleet numbered 1,200 ships ; the vic- 
torious Greeks had only 380 sail. Xerxes fled pre- 
cipitately, leaving 300,000 men under the command 
of Mardonius. This force was beaten the following 
year at Platea, by 70,000 Greeks, commanded by Pau- 
sanias and Aristides, and on the same day the Persian 
fleet was destroyed at Mycale. 

KETKEAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND 
GREEKS, under Xenophon, after the bat- 
tle of Cunaxa. 

401. Xenoph. — oza. 

This retreat, the most memorable in history, was 
made through a hostile country, and extended 1,600 
miles — from Babylon to the Euxine. 

ROME TAKEN BY THE GAULS, under 
Brennus — The Capitol alone escaped the 
flames. 

390. Brennus — iny. 

=%. 

TEMPLE OF DIANA, at Ephesus, accounted 
one of the wonders of the world, burned the 
night Alexander the Great was born. 

356. Diana — tus. 

Herostratus set fire to the temple to render himself 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 27 

immortal, but the Ephesians forbade any one to pro- 
nounce the incendiary's name. 



END OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. 

DARIUS CADOINANNUS defeated by Alex- 
ander the Great at Arbela — Commencement 
of the Macedonian Empire. 

331. Arbel.— til. 

Alexander was only twenty years old when he be- 
gan his career of conquest, which extended over 
twelve years. During that time he subdued the States 
of Greece, overturned the Persian Empire, and pene- 
trated as far as India. His course was marked by 
the foundation of several cities, chief among them 
being Alexandria, which subsequently became the 
great centre of commerce and learning. 

THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION OF THE 
OLD TESTAMENT— The translation of 
the Septuagint from Hebrew into Greek, 
made by order of Ptolemy Philadelphia. 

285. Septuag. — eku. 

Archimedes, Euclid, Eratosthenes. 

Archimedes and Euclid, the celebrated mathema- 
ticians, and Eratosthenes, the astronomer, flourished 
about this time. 



28 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

THE FIEST PUNIC WAR BEGINS — It 
lasted three years, and at its close Carthage 
was forced to cede Sicily and pay a heavy 
indemnity to the Romans. 

264. Punic — dauf. 

BATTLE OF ZAMA, WHICH CLOSED 
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR— Hanni- 
bal defeated by Scipio, and Carthage made 
a dependent ally of Rome. 

202. Zama — dyd. 

THIRD PUNIC WAR— Carthage taken by 
Scipio the Younger, and burned to the 
ground. 

146. Carthage; Scipio — bos. 

The year 146 b.c is also memorable for the destruc- 
tion of Corinth, the last stronghold of Grecian liberty. 
The inhabitants were put to the sword, or sold into 
slavery ; and Greece, under the name of Achaia, be- 
came a Roman province. 

TIBERIUS GRACCHUS causes the enactment 
of the Agrarian law for dividing the Roman 
lands among the people. 

133. Gracchus — bit. 

The Jugurthine, Cimbric, Social, and Mithridatic 
wars, in all of which the Romans were victorious, 
marked the interval between the years 111 and S4 b.c 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 29 

CIVIL WARS commenced between the parties 

of Marius and Sylla. 
88. . Marius; Sylla— koo. 

Marius and Cinna professed to represent the de- 
mocracy, and were the rivals of Sulla, who espoused 
the cause of the nobility. Their dissensions led to 
the proscription and massacre of 150,000 citizens. 
Marius, after sacrificing thousands to his ferocity, 
finally fell a victim to intemperance. Cinna, the 
partner of Marius in the consulship, was secretly 
assassinated. Sulla, after wading to power through 
an ocean of blood, unexpectedly resigned the dictator- 
ship and retired to private life. 

CATILINE'S CONSPIRACY quelled by Ci- 
cero. 
62. Catiline — se. 

CAESAR, HAYING CONQUERED GAUL, 

invades Britain. 
55. Caesar; Britain — hi. 

BATTLE OF PHARSALIA, in which Caesar 

defeats Pompey. 
48. Pharsal.— ok. 

JULIUS CAESAR ASSASSINATED in the 

senate-house. 
44. Caesar— of. 

BATTLE OF PHILIPPI— Brutus and Cassius 

defeated by Octavius Caesar. 
42. Philippi- fe. 



30 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

BATTLE OF ACTIUM, in which Caesar de- 
feats Antony— END OF THE ROMAN 
REPUBLIC. 

31. Actium — ib. 

Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies, committed 
suicide, and Egypt became a Roman province n.c. 30. 

OCTAYIUS, styled AUGUSTUS— Commence- 
ment of the Roman Empire, or FOURTH 
GREAT MONARCHY. 

27. Augustus — &p. 

Authors of the Augustan Age. 

The Latin "Classics" — Cicero, Sallust, Cornelius 
Nepos, Yirgil, Horace, Livy, and Ovid — belong to 
the Augustan age, b.c. 63 ; a.d. 14. 



A.13. 

BERTH OF THE REDEEMER — THE 
CHRISTIAN EPOCH— Christ crucified 
in the nineteenth year of the reign of Ti- 
berius. 

LITERARY SYNOPSIS FROM THE CHRIS- 
TIAN ERA TO THE RENAISSANCE. 

Writer§ of the first and second centuries. 

The most distinguished writers of the first and sec- 
ond centuries were Strabo, Pliny the naturalist, Plu- 
tarch, Tacitus, Juvenal, Ptolemy, and Galen. 

The Fathers. 

The works of the Fathers date from the end of the 
second to the middle of the fifth century. 

The Iron Age. 

From the fifth to the eleventh centuries the Goths, 
Yandals, Saracens, and Norsemen successively de- 
vastated Europe, aud their course was marked with 
fire and sword. The Greek and Latin classics, mathe- 
matics, and philosophy had some earnest students, 
but learning was confined to a few, owing to the 



32 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

ravages of war, the difficulty of procuring books, and 
the transition state of modern languages. 

At this period the Celts were the teachers of Eu- 
rope, and Irish schools were held in the highest 
repute. 
Arabian literature. 

About the year 800 the Arabs began to cultivate 
letters, and to them Europe owes the science of Alge- 
bra and the so-called Arabic numerals. 

The Scholastic Philosophers. 

The Schoolmen nourished from the eleventh to the 
thirteenth century. Renowned among the Scholastics 
were Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, and Roger 
Bacon. 

Romanesque and Gothic architecture. 

The scholastic period was also the age of architec- 
ture — the grand art of the Middle x\ges. 

THE NAME OF CHRISTIANS first given 

to the disciples of our Lord at Antioch. 
40. Christian — oz. 

HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII over- 
whelmed by an eruption of Vesuvius. 
79. Ilercul.; Pomp. — oin. 

These cities, buried for over sixteen hundred years, 
were forgotten in the lapse of time. The sinking of 
a well in 1720 led to the discovery of Herculaneum, 
and excavations were begun at Pompeii shortly after. 
Portici is built over the site of Herculaneum, and its 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 33 

museum contains the statues, paintings, and manu- 
scripts recovered from the ruins of the underground 
city, of which but a small portion is disinterred. One- 
half of Pompeii has been excavated ; its streets and 
edifices exhibit the artistic skill and solid grandeur of 
the first century. 

ZENOBIA, Queen of Palmyra, defeated by Au- 
relian at Edessa — Longinus, the philoso- 
pher, put to death. 

273. Zenobia — doit. 

THE ROMAN EMPIKE divided into four gov- 
ernments by Diocletian, and ruled by two 
Emperors and two Caesars 

292. Dioclet.— doud. 

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, first Chris- 
tian emperor, begins to reign — End of the 
persecution of the Christians. 

306.. Constantine — tys. 

Constantine united the four governments under his 

command, but after his death the empire was again 

divided. 

BYZANTIUM, or CONSTANTINOPLE, made 

the capital of the Roman empire. 
329. Byzan. — ten. 

DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE into the West- 
ern and the Eastern — Valentinian rules at 
Rome, Yalens at Constantinople. 

361. Yalent.; Yal. — iso. 



34 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

EOME SACKED AND BURNED by the 

Goths under Alaric. 
410. Alaric — oby. 

Alaric died the same year at Cosenza, and was 
buried, with all his treasures, in the bed of the river 
Busento. 

THE VANDALS, under Genseric, attack the 
Roman power in Africa and lay waste the 
country. 

429. Genseric— -fen. 

THE ROMANS, having occupied Britain for 
five hundred years, finally withdraw their 
forces — Yortigern solicits the aid of the 
Saxons against the Picts and Scots — Arrival 
of Hengist and Horsa. 

449. ITeng. ; llor.—fon. 



THE HEPTARCHY was established in the 
fifth and sixth centuries. 

THE HUNS stopped in their career of conquest 
by the death of Attila, called " the scourge 
of God." 

453. Attil.— oli 

ODOACER, King of the Heruli, dethrones 
AUGUSTULUS ROMULUS, the last em- 
peror of the West. 

476. Odoacer— ^bw. 

Ancient history ends with the fall of the Western 
Empire. For its chief epochs, see p. 5. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 35 

ODOACER, the first barbarian king of Italy, was 
defeated by Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, whose 
successors reigned until the year 568, when they were 
expelled by the Lombards. The last king of this 
race was dethroned by Charlemagne, to whom " the 
iron crown " of Lombardy passed. 

THE FRANKS, led by Clovis, conquer the 
Yisigoths and take possession of Gaul — The 
king and 3,000 of his warriors converted to 
Christianity. 

FRENCH MONARCHY ESTABLISHED. 

510. Clovis— te. 

THE BOOKS OF THE CIVIL LAW— The 

Codex and Digest — compiled by Trebonian, 
and promulgated by the Emperor Justinian. 
529. Justin.; Code — uen. 

The other books of Justinian's Code, namely, Pan- 
dects, Institutes, and Novels, published, 533-535. 

ARTHUR, Pendragon, or Sovereign of the Cam- 
brian Britons, killed in the battle of Camlan. 
542. Arthur— lod. 

" The king whose exploits fill all the poetry of the 
Middle Ages, and whose very existence is doubtful." 

THE HEGIRA, or flight of Mahomet from 
Mecca to Medina, called the Mahometan era. 
622. Hegira — sed. 

Mahomet succeeded by his father-in-law, Abube- 
ker, as caliph of the Saracens. 



36 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

EISE OF THE SARACEN or Arab power, 

which spread rapidly. 
633. Abubeker— sit 

THE ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY burnt. 
640. Alexandria — sob. 

The great library was founded by the Ptolemies, 
and contained 700,000 volumes. Its destruction is 
attributed to the caliph Omar. Attached to the 
library was the museum, a college in which learned 
men were maintained by the State. 

CHARLES MARTEL defeats the Saracens 
at Tours, and saves Europe from Mahometan 
subjugation. 

732. Martel— pid. 

CHARLEMAGNE crowned emperor at Rome 
—NEW EMPIRE OF THE WEST. 

800. Charlemagne — oozy. 

Age of Charlemagne and Haroun al Rasehid. 

Charlemagne's reign of forty-five years w r as dis- 
tinguished for extensive conquests, wise government, 
and patronage of learning. His contemporary, Ha- 
roun al Raschid, the renowned caliph of Bagdad, was 
also celebrated as a warrior, statesman, and patron of 
learned men, though his title of The Just may be 
called in question. 

EGBERT unites the Saxon Heptarchy under 
one government, and becomes the first king 
of England. 

827. ' Egbert— hep. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 37 

ALFRED THE GKEAT elected King- 
Reigned thirty years. 
871. Alfred— oqpa. 

Age of Alfred the Great. 

Alfred is acknowledged to have been the greatest 
and best of the English monarchs. He freed his 
country from the tyranny of the Danes, enforced the 
strict administration of justice, formed a navy, estab- 
lished schools, and wrote several works for the in- 
struction of his people. The foundation of Oxford 
University is also attributed to him. . 

BATTLE OF CLONTARF, in which the Danes 
were signally defeated by Brian Boroihme, 
and their career of conquest checked. 

1014. Clont. — ambo. 

CANUTE, or KNUT, King of Denmark, on the 
death of Edmund Ironsides, becomes sole 
monarch of England. 

1017. Canute — majp. 

The Saxon line restored in 1042. 

THE NORMAL CONQUEST — Harold II., 
the last of the Saxon kings, conquered by 
William of Normandy, at battle of Hastings. 

1066. Norman — maus. 

THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR introduced 
the feudal system into England by appor- 
tioning the land among his retainers, who 
were called barons, i.e., lords of baronies. 



S8 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

THE CEITSADES. 

THE FIKST CRUSADE preached by Peter 
the Hermit, and sanctioned by a council at 
Clermont. 

1095. Crusade — moul. 

The first crusade accomplished its object — the re- 
covery of the Holy Sepulchre. Jerusalem was taken 
from the Moslems and Godfrey proclaimed king. But 
the great crusader died a year afterward, and in 1187, 
after a siege of fourteen days, Jerusalem was retaken 
by the Turks, under the command of the celebrated 
Saladin. 

THE GHIBELLINE AND GTJELPH FAC- 
TIONS m ITALY— The League of Lom- 
bard} 7 formed by twenty-three Italian cities 
for local government. 

1167. Ghibelline; Guelph — basoi. 

The English, under the command of Strongbow, 

invade Ireland. 
1169. Strong. — masou. 

The Ghibellines were the adherents of the German 
emperors ; the Guelphs fought for Italian autonomy. 
By the treaty of Constance — 1183 — the privileges of 
the Italian cities were confirmed. The city republics, 
Venice, Genoa, Florence, etc., then rose to power. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 39 

MOGUL EMPIRE. 

Jenghis Khan {Greatest Khan) proclaimed 
sovereign of the Mogul tribes. He founds 
a new empire. 

1206. Jenghis — hezau. 

Jenghis, or Chingis, overran the empire of the 

Saracens, and extended his conquests to China, India, 

Persia, and Asiatic Russia. 

MAGNA CHARTA signed by King John at 

Runnymede. 
1215 Chart.— adal. 

Through the exertions of Simon de Montfort the 
charter wrung from John was supplemented by the 
creation of a House of Commons, a.d. 1264. 

END OF THE SARACEN EMPIRE— Bag- 
dad taken by the Tartars under Hulaku, 
the grandson of Jenghis Khan. 

1258. Bagdad; Tartar— Idoo. 

END OF THE CRUSADES— The Turks cap- 
ture Acre, the last stronghold of the Chris- 
tians in the Holy Land. 
1291. Acre; Crusade — hena. 

The Crusades ended unsuccessfully as regards their 
primary object, but they gave a marked impetus to 
national development. The power of the feudal aris- 
tocracy was weakened, charters were granted to cities, 
trade and commerce were promoted, and the culture 
of the East was introduced into Western Europe. 



40 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

OTTOMAN, or OTIIMAN, first sultan and 

founder of the Turkish Empire. 
1299. Othman — adoun. 

BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN — Robert 
Bruce, with 30,000 Scots, defeats the army 
of Edward II., numbering 100,000. 

1314. Bannock. — mibo. 

The battle of Bannockburn has been called the 

English Crecy. 

BATTLE OF CRECY — the French army 

totally defeated by Edward III. 
1346. Crecy — mifau. 

Thirty thousand were engaged on the English side ; 
ninety thousand on the French. It is said that Ed- 
ward had cannon in this engagement, which was the 
commencement of the Hundred Years' War between 
France and England. 

mariner's Compas§ and Gunpowder. 

In the fourteenth century the Mariner's Compass 
came into general use, and gunpowder effected a revo- 
lution in warfare. 

According to Chinese records, a kind of compass 
was invented two thousand years before the Christian 
era, and was employed in navigation about a.d. 300. 
The Arabs probably borrowed it from the Chinese, 
and introduced it into Europe. Its improvement and 
practical application date from 1302, when Flavio 
Gioja, a Neapolitan navigator, is said to have devised 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 41 

the modern mode of suspending the needle. Before 
his time it was put on two sticks, or bits of straw, in 
a vessel of water. 

Gunpowder was used by the Hindoos and Chinese 
in the time of Alexander the Great, but was not 
known in Europe until the latter part of the middle 
ages. 

Roger Bacon, in 1267, described its composition, 
and suggested its use in war. Ferrarius, a Spaniard 
who lived in Bacon's time, gave receipts for making 
Greek fire, rockets, and " thunder." The Moors had 
cannon at the siege of Cordova, in 1280, fifty years 
before the reputed invention of gunpowder by 
Schwartz. 

The Renaissance. 

The fourteenth century is also distinguished for 
the Renaissance in learning and the revival of art. 
The world-renowned poets, Dante, Petrarch, and 
Chaucer, Cimabue (who restored the art of painting), 
and his celebrated pupil, Giotto, belong to this age. 

Timoor's Empire. 

BATTLE OF ANGORA (Galatia)— Bajazet 
Ilderim (the Lightning) taken prisoner by 
Timoor the Tartar. 

1402. Angor. — boze. 

Timoor, or Tamerlane, after laying waste Central 

Asia, made Samarcand the capital of his empire. 

Here the fierce conqueror patronized learning and the 

arts ; but after his death, in 1405, Tartary relapsed 

into its former barbarism. 



42 historical epochs. 

JO AX OF AEO compels tlie English to raise 
the siege of Orleans — Charles VII. crowned 
at Eheims. 
1429. Jeanne d'Arc — hoen. 

The heroic Maid of Orleans was taken prisoner the 
following year, and burned at Rouen ; but she had 
aroused the spirit of her countrymen, and the Eng- 
lish were soon after obliged to evacuate France. This 
closed the Hundred Years' War, which originated in 
the claim of Edward III. to the French throne. 

THE APT OF PRINTING from movable 

types invented. 
1440. Printing — mofy. 

Printing, " the art preservative of all the arts," is 
called the great invention of the fifteenth century, 
though the principle was known to the Chinese two 
thousand years before. 

The people of Haarlem, in Holland, have a statue 
erected to Laurence Coster, for whom they claim the 
honor of having invented the art of printing from 
carved blocks of wood, a.d. 1438. About the year 
1440 John Gutenberg, of Mentz, used movable types. 
John Fust and Peter Schoeffer printed from metal 
types in 1450. 

The first edition of the Bible, the Mazarin, was 
issued from the press of Gutenberg and Fust in 1455. 

EXTINCTION OF THE EASTEEN OE 
BYZANTINE EMPIEE— Constantinople 
taken by the Turks under Mahomet n., 
after a siege of fifty-three days. 

1453. Constan. ; Turk — afut 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 43 

The dispersion of Greek scholars after the fall of 
Constantinople, together with the multiplication of 
books caused by the invention of printing, gave a 
rapid impetus to the diffusion of knowledge at the 
close of the fifteenth century. Maritime enterprise 
was also a distinctive feature of this age. 

BATTLE OF BOSWORTH, in which Kichard 
III. is killed— Henry VIL, the first of the 
Tudor kings, unites the houses of York and 
Lancaster — End of the Wars of the Hoses, 
which lasted thirty years. 

1485. Bosworth — hoku. 

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA — Columbus 
lands on Guanahani, one of the Bahamas ; 
takes possession of it in the name of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella of Spain, and names it 
San Salvador. 

1492. Columb. — mone. 

He reached the mainland in his third voyage, 1498. 
Granada was taken by Ferdinand V., thus putting an 
end to the Moorish dominion in Spain, the year " Co- 
lumbus gave a new world to Leon and Castile." The 
admiral's commission was dated from Granada, three 
days after the defeat of the Moors. 

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION be- 
gun in Germany by Martin Luther. 
1517. Luther — alboi. 

At the Diet of Spires, 1529, it was decreed that the 
status quo should be observed until the meeting of a 



44 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

general council. Luther's friends protested against 
this — hence the name Protestants. 

THE FIKST VOYAGE ROUND THE 
WORLD by a ship of Magellan's squadron, 
1519-1522. 
1522. Magel.— bued. 

Magellan, the first circumnavigator of the earth, 
was a Portuguese in the service of Spain. He was 
killed on his homeward passage, in a skirmish with 
the natives of the Philippine Isles, but his vessel com- 
pleted the voyage in three years and twenty-nine days. 

MARY STUART, Queen of Scots, beheaded at 
Fotheringay Castle. 

1587. Mary Stuart — alkoi. 

THE SPANISH ARMADA defeated and dis- 
persed. 

1588. Arm. — bukoo. 
Less than the half of Philip's mighty armament re- 
turned home. The Armada suffered considerably in 
several engagements, but the storms it encountered 
were still more disastrous to it. Elizabeth's fleet was 
commanded by Howard and Drake, who dispersed 
the cumbrous Spanish vessels by means of fire-ships. 

HENRY IY. OF FRANCE defeats the army 

of the League at the battle of Ivry. 
1590. Ivry — muny. 

Henry's wise and just administration put an end to 
the civil wars— half political and half religious — which 
desolated France for over thirty years. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 45 

Distinguished Writer§ of the Sixteenth Century. 

To the sixteenth century belong some of the great- 
est names in the literatures of Europe : Spencer, Shake- 
speare, Ariosto, Tasso, Camoens, Cervantes, Mon- 
taigne, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, etc. 
The Great Masters. 

In art the ideal of excellence was attained by Michael 
Angelo, Raphael, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, and 
Albert Durer. 
The Thirty Years' War. 
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS killed at the battle 
of Lutzen, after defeating the forces of the 
Emperor Ferdinand II. 
1632. Lutzen — aste. 

Lutzen was the most memorable battle of the 
Thirty Years' War, in which most of the European 
powers took part. The struggle originated in the 
rival jealousies and religious differences of the Ger- 
man princes. The intervention of other countries 
was afterward called for, France joining Sweden 
against the house of Austria. 

The celebrated generals Tilly and Wallenstein 
fought on the emperor's side. Turenne and Conde led 
the French troops to victory at the close of the contest. 

THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA or MUN- 

STEP— End of the Thirty Years' War. 
1648. Munster — asoh. 

By the peace of Westphalia equal rights were ac- 
corded to Lutherans and Catholics. The treaty saved 
Germany from total dismemberment, but gave France 



46 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

and Sweden an increase of territory and an influence 
in the Diet. 

1642-1651— CIVIL WAR IN ENGLAND— De- 
cisive defeat of the royalists at the battle of 
Naseby. 

1649— EXECUTION OF CHARLES I. 
OLIVER CROMWELL styled Lord Protector 

of the Commonwealth. 
1653. Cromwell — bmdi. 

Cromwell ruled despotically for five years. After 
his death the monarchy was restored, the English re- 
public having lasted but eleven years. 

JOHN SOBIESKI, of Poland, relieves Vienna, 
and saves Europe from Turkish domination. 
1683. Sobieski — asoot. 

REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND— DEPOSI- 
TION OF JAMES IL— WILLIAM OF 
ORANGE gives his assent to the Bill of 
Rights. 

168S. Revol. — aslcoo. 

Age of Louis Qiiatorze. 

In the seventeenth century, the latter half of which 
has been called the Age of Louis XIV., literature, 
science, and art were fostered by the foundation of 
the French Academy, the Royal Society of England, 
and similar institutions in other countries in Europe. 

The French drama of this century attained perfec- 
tion in the tragedies of Corneille and Racine, and in 
inimitable comedies of Moliere. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 47 

The great Spanish dramatists, Lope de Yega and 
Calderon, were distinguished for their wonderful 
versatility, and their productions furnished a rich 
mine from which later writers have drawn. 

Dramatists and Poets. 

In England, Shakespeare was succeeded by Ben 
Jonson, and Milton, in poverty and blindness, wrote 
his immortal epic, Paradise Lost. 

Philosophers and Astronomers. 

Bacon, Descartes, and Locke were founders of new 
schools of philosophy, and the laws of planetary mo- 
tion were discovered by Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. 

Painters. 

The distinguished painters of this age were Gnido, 
Salvator Rosa, Rubens, Vandyke, Claude Lorraine, 
Poussin, Rembrandt, and Murillo. 

BATTLE OF PULTOWA— Charles XII. of * 

Sweden defeated by the Czar Peter. 
1709. Pult. — moizou. 

Charles was killed in 1718, at the siege of Frede- 
ricshall. His successful rival, Peter the Great, died 
in 1725, after raising Russia from barbarism to the 
rank of a great power. 

PEACE OF AIX LA CHAPELLE. 
1748. Chapelle— ajpok. 

The war of the Austrian succession was concluded 
by this treaty, which confirmed the right of Maria 
Theresa to the throne of Austria. George II. of 



48 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

England espoused the cause of the empress ; Frede- 
rick the Great of Prussia and Louis XV. of France 
upheld the claim of Charles, the Elector of Bavaria. 

1775-1781— THE WAR OF AMERICAN INDE- 
PENDENCE — Washington appointed Com- 
mander-in-Chief. 

THE UNITED COLONIES declared free, sov- 
ereign, and independent. 
1776 (July 4th). Union — apois. 

LORD CORNWALLIS surrenders to General 
Washington at Yorktown — End of the Revo- 
lutionary War. 

1781. Yorktown — boika. 

THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATES 
GENERAL opened at Paris — Capture of 
the Bastile — The French Revolution begun. 

1789. Bastile — apoon. 

1792— THE REIGN OF TERROR inaugurated by 
Danton, Robespierre, and Marat. 

1793— EXECUTION OF LOUIS XYI. and Marie 
Antoinette. 

1794— FALL OF ROBESPIERRE, and end of the 
Reign of Terror. 

DOWNFALL OF POLAND. 

1795. Poland — moinu. 

The first partition of Poland took place in 1772, 

Russia, Prussia, and Austria each taking a share. In 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 49 

1792 another division was made between Russia and 
Prussia; and in 1795 Poland ceased to exist as an 
independent nation. 

Music. 

In the eighteenth century Handel, Haydn, and 
Mozart inaugurated a new era in musical composition ; 

English School of Painting. 

and Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds, and West 
founded an English school of painting. 

Great Writers of the Eighteenth Century. 

Among the most eminent writers of the age were : 
Addison and Steele, the founders of periodic litera- 
ture ; Pope, " the poet of town life and literary life ; " 
Goldsmith, novelist, poet, and dramatist ; Dr. John- 
son, "the colossus;" Burns, the poet of domestic 
life ; Swift and Sterne, pungent in satire ; Fielding, 
novelist; Linnaeus and Buff on, naturalists ; Benjamin 
Franklin, statesman and experimental philosopher; 
Edmund Burke, impassioned orator and sublime es- 
sayist ; Schiller, German historian and dramatist. 

The writings of Hume, Gibbon, Yoltaire, Rousseau, 
Kant, etc., belong to the school of scepticism and 
speculative ideas. 

BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR— Nelson defeated 
the fleets of France and Spain, and died in 
the moment of victory. 
1805. Tr af al . — moozu. 

The destruction of the French fleet frustrated Na- 
poleon's design of invading England. 
3 



50 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

Steamboats. 

In 1803, Eobert Fulton, of Pennsylvania, launched 
his steamboat, Clermont, on the Seine, and ran one 
on the Hudson in 1807. In 1814 he constructed a 
war steamer for the United States. 

Railroads. 

The first locomotive was made by the English engi- 
neer, George Stephenson, in 1814. The Stockton 
and Darlington Railroad, constructed under his super- 
intendence, was opened in 1825. 

BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS— General 
Jackson repulses the British — End of the 
War of 1812. 

1815. New Orleans — hoobu. 

In the war of 1812, which originated in the Eng- 
lish practice of impressing American seamen, the in- 
fant navy of the United States proved more than a 
match for British war-ships. Perry's victory on Lake 
Erie, the defeat of the English squadron on Lake 
Champlain by Commodore McDonough, and the re- 
pulse of the British at New Orleans, were the most 
brilliant achievements of the war. 

A treaty of peace with Great Britain was signed at 
Ghent, December 24, 1814, and ratified February 17, 
1815. 

BATTLE OF WATERLOO — Napoleon de- 
feated by the English and Prussians under 
Wellington and Blucher. 

1815. Waterloo — akal. 

The conqueror who had made and unmade kings, 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 51 

and changed the map of Europe, died at St. Helena, 
after a captivity of six years. 

The Code Napoleon, by which a peasant proprie- 
tary was established in France, is a lasting monument 
to Bonaparte's memory. The operation of this great 
land act enabled France to raise on her own soil the 
enormous indemnity exacted by the Emperor of Ger- 
many in 1871. 

The Catholic Emancipation Bill passed under 
the administration of the Duke of Wellington, 1829. 

The Parliamentary Reform Bill passed, after 
violent opposition in the House of Lords, 1832. 

The Eeform Bill disfranchised fifty-six pocket 
boroughs, gave parliamentary representation to several 
towns, and extended the franchise. 

In 1833 the Reform Parliament abolished slavery 
in the British colonies. 

The Chartist agitation, 1848. The Peoples 
Charter advocated : 

1st. Universal suffrage. 

2d. Vote by ballot. 

3d. Annual parliaments. 

4th. Equal electoral districts. 

5th. Payment of members of Parliament. 

6th. Abolition of property qualification for members. 

The Chartist monster petition was sent to the House 
of Commons in cabs. 



52 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

1846-1S4S. Mexic.—boqfoo. 

The Mexicans, being defeated by General Taylor at 
Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Buena Yista, and 
by General Scott at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and 
Churubusco, made a final stand at Chapultepec, the 
citadel of Mexico. This was taken after a desperate 
resistance on the part of Santa Anna, and the Ameri- 
can army entered the capital, September 14, 1847. In 
February of the following year the treaty of Guada- 
lupe Hidalgo was signed, by which New Mexico and 
Upper California were ceded to the United States. 

1854-1856— THE CRIMEAN WAR— France 
and England unite against Russia in defence 
of the Ottoman Empire — Treaty of Paris signed. 

1856. Crimea — aJcus. 

1861— EMANCIPATION OF THE RUSSIAN 
SERFS decreed by the Czar, Alexander II. 

TREATY OF YILLAFR ANC A signed between 
Napoleon III. and Francis Joseph of Austria. 
1859. Yillafranc. — moolou. 

This treaty concluded the war between Sardinia 
and France on one side, and Austria on the other. 
The Austrians, being defeated at Magenta and Sol- 
ferino, ceded Lombardy to the King of Sardinia. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 53 

Kingdom of Italy e§tabli§Iied. 

Tuscany, Modena, Parma, Romagna, and the two 
Sicilies were added to his dominions the following 
year, and in 1861 Victor Emanuel was proclaimed 
King of Italy. The Papal territory was annexed in 

1870. 

THE CIVIL WAR IN THE UNITED 
STATES begins— Fort Sumter taken by the 
Secessionists. 

1861. Sumter — hoosa. 

LEE SURRENDERS TO GRANT at Appo- 
mattox Court House, April 9th — Johnston 
surrenders to Sherman, April 26th — Capture 
of Jefferson Davis and end of the Civil War. 

1865. Appomat. — aksu. 

Lincoln proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the 
rebel States, January 1, 1863 ; Slavery abolished by 
the Federal Congress, February 1, 1865 ; the vote 
ratified by the States, December 18th. 

MAXIMILIAN, Archduke of Austria, accepted 
the crown of Mexico, 1864 — Captured by 
the Juarists, tried and shot, 1867 — A re- 
public proclaimed. 

FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR concluded after 
a six months' campaign — Capitulation of 
Paris — Treaty of Frankfort. 

1871. Franco-Pruss. — moqpa. 



54 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

Napoleon III., with an army of 80,000, surrendered 
at Sedan, September 1, 1870. 

Marshal Bazaine, with 170,000 men, being hemmed 
in by the Germans, surrendered at Metz, October 27th. 

By the treaty of Frankfort, Alsace and Lorraine 
were ceded to Prussia, and an indemnity of 5,000,- 
000,000 francs was exacted by the victors. The Na- 
poleonic dynasty was overthrown, and France became 
a republic. 

New German Empire. 

King William of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor 
of Germany at Versailles, January 18, 1871, and the 
new empire became the dominant power in Europe. 

The nineteenth century is remarkable for mech- 
anical inventions, scientific discoveries, and literary 
versatility. Since its dawn, England, France, Ger- 
many and the United States have added a host of 
distinguished names to the catalogue of authors, 
artists, and inventors. 

Modern ingenuity has also perfected those two 
great factors in civilization and material progress, the 
steam-engine and the telegraph, which were dimly 
shadowed forth by the thinkers of previous centuries. 
The telephone and the phonograph belong exclusively 
to our own age ; and the application of electricity will 
doubtless have produced wonderful results before the 
next century is ushered in. 



LEADING FACTS IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, 

From the Discovery by Columbus to the War of Independence. 



English Discoveries. 

1496-1497— JOHN CABOT and his son Sebastian, 
Venetians residing at Bristol, are commissioned 
by Henry VII. to go on a voyage of discovery ; 
they reach Labrador. 

1498— SEBASTIAN CABOT coasts southward to 
Albemarle Sound — England claims the territory 
on the Atlantic coast. 

Portuguese Discoveries. 

1499-1500— BKAZIL DISCOVEEED BY PIN- 
ZON, a companion of Columbus — Pedro de 
Cabral, driven on its coast by a tempest, takes 
possession in the name of the King of Portugal. 

Spanish Discoveries and Conquests. 

1512— PONCE DE LEON takes possession of Flo- 
rida for Spain. 

1513— THE PACIFIC OCEAN discovered by Bal- 
boa. 



56 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

Cortez. 

1519-1521— MEXICO conquered by Fernando Cortez. 

French Discoveries 

1524— AN EXPEDITION sent out by Francis X, 
under the command of Verrazzani, formed a set- 
tlement called New France. 

1531— JACQUES CARTIER sailed round New- 
foundland and ascended the St. Lawrence as far 
as Montreal. 

Pizarro. 

1535 — PERU conquered by Pizarro. 

1535 — CHILI discovered by Aimagro. 

1541-1512— FERDINAND DE SOTO discovered 
the Mississippi, and was buried in its waters. 

1584— VIRGINIA taken possession of by Sir Walter 
Raleigh, and named after the virgin queen. 

Virginia colonized. 

1606— CHARTERS granted to the Plymouth and 
London Companies by James I. 

1607— JAMESTOWN, the first permanent English 
settlement, founded. 

Champ lain. 

1608-1635— CHAMPLAIN, " the father of Canada," 
founded Quebec, which became a flourishing 
colony under his government. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 57 

Hud§on Bay Territory. 

1609— THE HUDSON RIVER and the country 
round it discovered by Henry Hudson, an Eng- 
lishman in the service of Holland. 

Pilgrim Fathers. 

1620— THE PILGKIM FATHERS sail from Ply- 
mouth in the Mayflower ; land on the coast of 
Cape Cod (Plymouth Rock), December 21, 1620. 

Toleration in Maryland. 

1633-1648— MARYLAND colonized by Lord Balti- 
more—St. Mary's founded— Freedom of religious 
worship decreed. 

Swedes. 

1655— DELAWARE colonized by the Swedes; 
their settlement taken by the Dutch Governor, 
Peter Stuyvesant. 

Dutch. 

1664— THE DUTCH POSSESSIONS taken by 
Richard Nichols, in the name of James, Duke of 
York— New Amsterdam called New York. 

Quakers. 

1682— PENNSYLVANIA colonized by the Quakers, 
under William Penn. 

Quebec taken toy the English. 

1759— QUEBEC taken from the French by General 
Wolfe— Death of Wolfe and Montcalm. 



3* 



LEADING EVENTS IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 



STAMP ACT passed by the British Parliament— 
Strongly opposed in the Colonial Assemblies — Patrick 
Henry, of Virginia, prominent in opposition, 1765 
— Repealed the following year. 

Tea Act. — The duty resisted — Vigorous measures 
taken by the people of Boston, New York, Phila- 
delphia, and Charleston — An English ship, having a 
cargo of tea, boarded, and eight hundred and forty 
chests flung into Boston harbor, 1773. 

The Continental Congress at Philadelphia — Decla- 
ration of Bights drawn up, 1774. 

Skirmish at Lexington. 

First engagement between the English and Ameri- 
cans, at Lexington, April 19, 1775. 

George Washington appointed Commander-in- 
chief, May, 1775. 

Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. 

•• The United Colonies free, sovereign, and inde- 
pendent." 

Resolution introduced by Richard Henry Lee, of 

Virginia, that the United Colonies "are, and ought 

to be, free, sovereign, and independent," June 7, 1776. 

Declaration of Independence. 

Declaration of Independence drawn up by Thomas 
Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 59 

Sherman, and Bobert Livingstone— Signed by the 
President, John Hancock, and fifty-five other mem- 
bers — Proclaimed July 4, 1776. 

Howe's Successes. 

General Howe takes Long Island, and repulses 
General Washington's army at White Plains, 1776. 

Battle of Trenton. 

Washington captures the Hessian garrison at Tren- 
ton, December 26, 1776. 

Lafayette and other European officers support the 
American cause, 1777. 
Battle of Bennington. 

Colonel Stark routs a detachment of Germans, In- 
dians, and Canadians, at Bennington, August 14, 1777. 

Engagements at Brandywine and Germantown. 

Washington's forces defeated at Brandy wine Creek 
and Germantown, 1777. He encamps at Valley Forge. 

Triumph of tlie American Arms. 

Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga 6,000 men, artil- 
lery, baggage, and stores to the American army under 
the command of General Gates, October 17, 1777. 

A Republic Established. 

The "Articles of Confederation" drawn up, and 
the United States formed into one government, No- 
vember 15, 1777. 
English Concessions— Treaty with France. 

The English government proposes to concede all 
the original claims of the colonists — Complete inde- 



60 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

pendence demanded by the Americans — France forms 
an alliance with the United States, February, 1778. 

England declares war against France for the recog- 
nition given to the American Republic. 

D'Estaing's Fleet. 

France sends a fleet, under the Count D'Estaing, to 
blockade the English army in Philadelphia — Clinton 
evacuates the city, June, 1778. 

Massacre of Wyoming. 

Parties of Tories and Indians pillage, burn, and 
massacre — Slaughter in Wyoming Valley, 1779. 

Spanish Aid. 

Spain assists the United States, 1779. 

PAUL JOKES captures a merchant fleet convoyed 
by a heavy frigate, 1779. 

Reverses in tlie South. 

General Lincoln's army at Charleston surrenders to 
Sir Henry Clinton — The South under British domi- 
nation, 1780. 
Battle of Camden. 

Disastrous engagement at Camden — Gates defeated, 
with great loss, by Cornwallis — Death of Baron de 
Kalb, 1780. 

Arnold's Treason. 

Arnold's design to betray West Point discovered — 
Major Andre hanged as a spy, 1780. 

Intellectual Progress. 

Academy of Arts and Sciences founded at Boston, 

1780. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 61 

Success of the American Arms in the South. 

Morgan defeats Tarleton at Cowpens — General 
Green successful in the South, and confines the Eng- 
lish army within narrow limits — The British garrison 
in Pensacola captured by the Spaniards, 1781. 

Surrender at Yorktown— End of the War. 

Cornwallis, with his army of 7,000 men, surrenders 
to Washington and Rochambeau, at Yorktown, Octo- 
ber 19, 1781. 

Treaty of peace signed at Paris by all the belliger- 
ent powers, September, 1783. 

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, which met 
in Philadelphia in 1774, continued to legislate for the 
Union until the election of Washington, the President 
of Congress being the head of the government. 

A Constitution Adopted. 

In 1787 a convention was held to revise the Articles 
of Confederation. It was decided that Congress should 
be composed of a Senate and House of Representa- 
tives, and that each State should have two senators, 
and one representative for every 30,000 inhabitants. 

First President and Vice-Pre§ident. 

George Washington elected President, and John 
Adams Yice-President, of the United States, 1789. 



Capital of United States. 

City of Washington made the capital, 1792. 



MEMORABILIA OF THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865. 



Origin of the Civil War. 

1821-1865. — State sovereignty and the slavery 
question agitate the North and South. 

Secession. 

December 20-25, 1860. — South Carolina secedes 
from the Union and proposes a Southern Confederacy. 

January 9-26, 1861. — Secession of Mississippi, Ala- 
bama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana. 

Confederate States. 

February 8. — The seceding States organize a provi- 
sional government. Jefferson Davis chosen President 
and Alexander II. Stevens Vice-President. 

March 4. — Texas secedes. 

Commencement of Hostilities. 

Fort Sumter, commanding the entrance to Charles- 
ton harbor, bombarded by Beauregard, and surren- 
dered, April 13th. The Federals march out with the 
honors of war. 

Call for Troops. 

April 15. — President Lincoln calls for 75,000 volun- 
teers, to recover " the forts, places, and property seized 
from the Union." 

April 17. — Virginia joins the Southern Confederacy. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 63 

Privateers. 

April 17. — Jefferson Davis announces that letters of 
marque will be given privateers to prey on Northern 
commerce. 

Lincoln's Proclamation. 

April 19. — Lincoln proclaims that the ports of seced- 
ing States will be blockaded, and that Confederate 
privateers will be regarded as pirates. 

Harper's Ferry Arsenal and Gosport Navy Yard 
Destroyed. 

April 18-21. — The United States arsenal and armory 

at Harper's Ferry, Ya., blown up by Lieut. Jones, 

and the shipping and stores at Norfolk navy yard, 

valued at $50,000,000, destroyed by Commodore 

Macaulay, to prevent them falling into the hands of 

the Confederates. 

Maryland Saved to the Union. 

May-June. — The Southern army threatens "Wash- 
ington. General Butler occupies Federal Hill, com- 
manding the city of Baltimore, and secures a route 
for the Union army to the capital. Maryland decides 
against secession, owing to the vigorous measures of 
General Butler and General Banks. 

June 10. — Federal losses at Little and Big Bethel. 

June 15. — England and France recognize the Con- 
federate States as belligerents. 

McClellan's Campaign. 

July. — McClellan makes a successful campaign in 
Western Virginia. 



64 HISTOEICAL EPOCHS. 

July 20. Confederate Congress sits at Kichmond, Ya. 

Bull Run. 

July 21. — First battle of Bull Run, or Manassas, 
Ya. A Federal panic. 

Aug. 29. — Fort Hatteras, N. C, surrendered to 
Butler and Commodore Stringham. 700 prisoners, 
24 pieces of artillery, and 1,000 stand of arms taken 
by the Federals. 

November 1. — General McClellan appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the Federal army on the resigna- 
tion of General Scott. 

Capture of Port Royal, S. C. 

November 7. — An expedition, under the command 
of General Sherman and Commodore Dupont, take 
Port Royal, S. C. 

November 19. — The Confederate commissioners, 
Mason and Slidell, taken by Captain Wilkes from the 
British steamer Trent and conveyed to Boston. Set 
at liberty, according to the provisions of international 
law, January 1, 1862. 

"The Stone Fleet." 

December. — Old whalers and hulks, purchased by 
the Government, filled with stone and sunk in Charles- 
ton harbor. 

The " stone fleet " numbered about sixty old vessels. 
A pipe, temporarily plugged, was put in each ; when 
the hulks reached the harbor the plugs were removed, 
and the vessels immediately sank. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 65 

Union Successes 

February 6, 1862. — Fort Henry taken by Captain 
Foote's fleet. Federals command the Tennessee River. 

February 8. — General Burnside's force captures 
Roanoke Island, commanding the approach to Albe- 
marle Sound. 

Surrender of Fort Donelson to General Grant. 
The Cumberland opened to the Union army. 

April 6-7. — Battles of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing, 
Tenn. Death of Confederate General Albert Sydney 
Johnson. The gunboats, and the timely arrival of 
reinforcements under Buell and Kelson, save General 
Grant's army. On the second day the Union forces 
regained their camps, and the Confederates, under 
Beauregard, withdrew to their intrenchments. 

First Step toward Emancipation. 

April 11. — Slavery abolished in District of Colum- 
bia, $1,000,000 being appropriated for compensation. 

New Orleans taken. 

April 28. — Farragut's fleet and Butler's army attack 
New Orleans. The city surrenders to Captain Por- 
ter, who commanded the mortar flotilla. 
Retreat to Richmond. 

May 9. — The Confederates retreat toward Rich- 
mond, pursued by McClellan. 

" Stonewall " Jackson. 

May 24. — Banks pursues Jackson through the Shen- 
andoah Valley. Jackson, at Winchester, forces Banks 
to retreat, and becomes the pursuer. 



6G HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

May 31-June 1. — Battle of Fair Oaks, or Seven 
Pines — great loss on both sides. The Confederates 
fail in their attempt to drive McClellan beyond the 
Chickahominy. 

June 6. — Memphis taken by the Federals. 
The Siege of Richmond Raised. 

June 26-July 2. — Seven days' battle on the Chicka- 
hominy, before Richmond. Lee compels McClellan 
to abandon the siege. The army of the Potomac re- 
treats to a strong position on the James River. 

June-September. — General Pope's campaign unsuc- 
cessful. He is assigned the command of the North- 
west, and General McDowell demands a court-martial. 

July 26. — General Halleck commander-in-chief. 
Battle of Antietam. 

September 17. — The forces of Lee and McClellan 
were engaged from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Both armies en- 
camped for the night " close enough to look into each 
other's eyes." Next day Lee withdrew his army 
across the Potomac. 
Acts of Thirty-seventh Congress. 

December 1, 1862-March 4, 1863.— Slaves in the 
Rebel States to be manumitted. West Virginia to be 
formed into a separate State, without the consent of 
Eastern Yirginia. The President to be invested with 
extraordinary powers. Foreign interference declined. 

December 11-16. — Fredericksburg, Va., bombarded 
by the Federals. The Confederate works successfully 
defended by Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet. Burnside 
and Hooker forced to recross the Rappahannock. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 67 

1863. 
Emancipation of Slaves. 

January 1. — Lincoln proclaims the Confederate 
States rebellious, and their slaves free. 

February 25. — Conscription bill passed. 

March 4. — Academy of Sciences founded at Wash- 
ington. 

Confederate Success. 

May 6. — Battle of Chancellorsville, Ya. General 
Hooker's nine days' campaign unsuccessful; he is 
obliged to recross the Rappahannock. 

" Stonewall " Jackson shot in mistake by his own 
men, as he was returning from a reconnoissance. 
Died May 10th. 

Battle of Gettysburg. 

July 1-3. — Lee's army repulsed by General Meade. 
The invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania checked. 

Yicksburg Taken. 

July 4. — Grant, assisted by Admiral Porter, com- 
pels the surrender of Yicksburg, after an obstinate 
defence by Pemberton. 

July 8. — Port Hudson, besieged by General Banks, 
surrenders "when the garrison had eaten its last 
mule." 

The possession of Yicksburg and Port Hudson 
gave the Federals command of the Mississippi. 



6S HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

Battle of Chattanooga (Lookout Mountain). 

November 24-25. — Grant, Hooker, Sherman, and 
Thomas defeat the Confederate army under the com- 
mand of Bragg. 

1864. 

Several engagements fought with varied success. 

March 9 — General Grant appointed commander-in- 
chief. 

Battles in "the Wilderness." 

May 5, 6, 7, 12. — Grant's campaign in Virginia. 
Desperate, but indecisive encounters in " the Wilder- 
ness " — a barren tract, full of ravines and swamps, 
and covered with thick brushwood. Battle at Spott- 
sylvania ; 10,000 killed and wounded on each side. 

The Alabama Sunk. 

June 19. — The Alabama, Captain Semmes, dis- 
abled and sunk by the Kearsarge, Captain Winslow, 
in an engagement off Cherbourg. 

About thirty war steamers were fitted out by the 
Confederates, the most successful being the Alabama, 
Florida, Tennessee, Tallahassee, and Shenandoah. 

The Tennessee Taken. 

August. — Farragut's wooden fleet captures the ram 
Tennessee, and disperses the Confederate fleet in Mo- 
bile Bay. 

August -September. — Sheridan's tactics against 
Early in the Shenandoah Valley. 



HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 69 

September 19. — Sheridan defeats the Confederates 
at Winchester, and marches northward. 

Battle of Cedar Creek. 

October 20. — The arrival of Sheridan in the camp 
changed the Federal defeat into a victory. 

March through Georgia. 

November 16 to December 21. — Sherman's march 
from Atlanta to Savannah, through a belt of country 
from twenty to sixty miles in width. The loss to the 
State of Georgia was estimated at $100,000,000. 
North and South Carolina suffered a still greater loss 
in the campaign from February to March, 1865. 

1865. 

February 1. — Slavery abolished in the United 
States by a vote of the Federal Congress. 

The amendment to the Constitution was submitted 
to the States and ratified by a majority of 27 to 9, 
December 18, 1865. 

Fall of Charleston. 

February 17. — The city of Charleston capitulates, 
after having been five hundred and forty-two days 
under fire. Evacuated by General Hardee and taken 
possession of by General Gilmore. An immense 
quantity of supplies lost to the Confederates. 

February 18. — The Union flag again hoisted on Fort 
Sumter. 



70 HISTORICAL EPOCHS. 

Fall of E&iehinond, the Confederate Capital. 

April 2-3. — Petersburg and Bichmond evacuated 
by Lee's forces and occupied by Grant. 

Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. 

April 9. — Lee retreats toward Lynchburg, pursued 
by the Federal army. After being worsted by Sheri- 
dan's cavalry at Sailor's Creek, Lee surrenders with 
the army of Northern Virginia to Grant. Terms of 
capitulation signed at a farm-house, near Appomattox 
Court House. 

Assassination of Lincoln. 

April 14. — President Lincoln shot by John Wilkes 
Booth, at Ford's Theatre. 

April 15. — Andrew Johnson takes the oath of office. 

Johnston Surrenders to Sherman. 

April 15. — Surrender of General Joseph E. John- 
ston with all the forces under his command. 

End of the War. 

May 10. — Jefferson Davis captured at Irwinsville, 
Georgia ; imprisoned in Fortress Monroe for two 
years ; released on bail May 13, 1867. 

National debt at the end of the war, $2,700,000,000. 

The "Constitutional Amendment," granting 
civil rights to the negroes, passed 1866. 



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